I used to do a lot of community theater, so I can understand falling so deeply in love with a character that you want to become them (Cinderella's Father, Into The Woods). However, Blondie Bennett —now her real name— is taking it to the extreme by transforming herself into a walking talking Barbie, complete with lowered IQ.

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Bennett has already had numerous surgeries to make herself more like the doll of our childhoods, but now she's doing hypnotherapy sessions several times a week to make her intelligence go down so she can be (according to her interpretation) like the doll both physically and mentally.

"Recently I went to pick a friend up at the airport and couldn't remember if I needed to go to departures or arrivals.

"I also got lost for three hours driving to my mum's house - the house where I grew up."

She added: "I want people to see me as a plastic sex doll and being brainless is a big part of that."

There's nothing inherently wrong with Bennett's ambition. It's her life, she can do what she wants; however, I don't remember Barbie being a brainless sex doll as much as I remember her being a chic fashion plate whose shoes would consistently go missing, which led to accusations that ended several of my childhood friendships abruptly and prematurely. (I saved up for those toy heels and I know they didn't just disappear). I also remember Barbie making an attempt to be a role model with her lab coats and purple fax machines (there was a fax machine, right?) which she would use in between marathon make-out sessions my friends and I used to send her on. (If there were two Kens, they would also make out.) (does anyone have a count of exactly how many jobs Barbie has held? I think she actually probably has an IQ of at least 135.)

Bennett's obsession with Barbie has lasted a lifetime. After falling in love with the doll as a child, she bleached her hair and drove a corvette just like Barbie in her teens, when she took on promotional jobs playing Barbie in toy stores. (It is possible we have met because I dragged my parents to meet Barbie at a grand opening at least twice in my childhood.) Bennett has also undergone extensive cosmetic procedures, including a breast augmentation that enlarged her breasts to a 32JJ and chin contouring in order to make her face resemble Barbie's more closely. Bennett is currently unemployed and her procedures are paid for by fans who donate in exchange for photos of her dressed as her idol.

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Regardless of criticism, Bennett says she is happy:

"People can criticise me but this is who I am - I want my transformation to be head to toe, inside and out."